Cooling means for a wire drawing block



Aug. 4, 1964 c. o. BRUESTLE COOLING MEANS FOR A WIRE DRAWING BLOCK FiledSept. 20, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 c. o. BRUESTLE COOLING MEANS FOR A WIREDRAWING BLOCK Filed Sept. 20, 1960 Aug. 4, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

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COOLING MEANS FOR A WIRE DRAWING BLOCK Filed Sept. 20, 1960 4Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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Aug. 4, 1964 C. O. BRUESTLE COOLING MEANS FOR A WIRE DRAWING BLOCK FiledSept. 20, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 64m 0 51904-15725 UnitedStates Patent 3,143,294 CDOLING MEANS FGR A WEE DRAWING BLGCK Carl 0.Bruestle, Metuehen, N.J., assignor to Syncro Machine Company, PerthAmhoy, Ni, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Sept. 20, 1960, Ser. No.57,318 11 Claims. ((31. 2t)52fi) The present invention relates to wiredrawing machines and particularly to means for cooling the wire drawingblocks thereof.

More particularly still the invention relates to air cooling means forthe wire drawing blocks.

In a copending application Serial No. 38,562 now Patent No. 3,130,832,issued April 28, 1964 l have described a means for directing air streamsagainst the exterior surface of a wire drawing block and the wirethereon. This system is incorporated in the apparatus of the presentinvention. The prior application, however, showed no means for coolingthe interior surface of the block and it was contemplated that the usualwater cooling be utilized in combination with the air cooling mentioned.Water cooling, however, while eflicient, requires expensive piping andcontributes to unpleasant and frequently undesirable operatingconditions since, especially in hot weather, the water cooled block actsas a condenser of the surrounding air and causes sweating with attendantloss of soap film from the wire convolutions surrounding the block face.Drawing dies will quickly lose their tolerance and damaged wire surfaceresults due to interruptions of the lubrication film. This frequentlyoccurs during stoppage of the machine.

By utilizing solely air cooling as disclosed in the instantspecification these conditions are overcome and, in fact, if the coolingair is refrigerated, the use thereof to cool the wire serves as aby-product to lower the temperature of the plant in which the machinesare operating.

It is an object of the invention to provide a wire drawing machine inwhich the drawing blocks are cooled solely by air.

Another object of the invention is to provide such air cooling meansincorporating means to direct air streams on both the internal andexternal surfaces of the drawing blocks,

It is a further object of the invention to provide such air coolingmeans wherein the external air streams are directed onto the block frompositions closely adjacent thereto and wherein the air is suppliedthrough toroidal chanels hingedly mounted to be readily moved away fromthe drawing blocks during the stringing up of the drawing machine.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when thefollowing description is considered in connection with the annexeddrawings, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional view through one ofthe drawing blocks of a wire drawing machine showing one embodiment ofmy invention wherein air streams are directed on both the interior andexterior of the drawing block;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the device of FIGURE 1showing particularly the mode for hingedly mounting a toroidal airdistributing channel in position about a drawing block;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view taken on theplane of the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 and illustrating the mode ofconnecting the toroidal air channel to a supply channel;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken on the plane of theline 4--4 of FIGURE 1 showing particularly the use of ribs on theinterior surface of a drawing block to provide additional cooling areato- 3,143,264 Patented Aug. 4, 1964 "Ice gether with the use of adeflector structure to cause the air stream to flow between and aboutthe ribs and the interior surface of the drawing block;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view through a drawing blockshowing a modified form of means for directing air streams against theinterior surface of the drawing block, this form including an interiorgenerally toroidal shaped channel having apertures therein for directingair against the inner surface of the drawing block; and

FIGURE 6 is a transverse cross-sectional view through a drawing blockshowing a further modified form of means for directing air against theinterior surface of a drawing block. in this form no structure internalto the drawing block is utilized but instead air is supplied from theexternal torus and directed against the interior surface of the drawingblock Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGURE 1,there is shown therein the usual base 10 which supports a drawing block11 driven by means of the shaft 12 in any suitable manner. The drawingblock 11 is provided with apertures 13 in its upper surface which, aswill later be described, serve to permit air flowing upwardly over theinner surface of the block to escape.

Mounted within the drawing block 11 is a bell shaped structure 14 whichseats on the base 11). Adjacent the lower end of the bell 14 and spacedoutwardly therefrom is a generally circular vertically extending member15 the flanged base of which is fixed to the machine base 10.

Drawing block 11 is provided with a downwardly extending rim 16 whichlies adjacent an inwardly extending flange 17 on the circular member 15.The members 16 and 17 form a sufficiently airtight seal so that littleair entering the toroidal passage formed by the machine base, the member15, the lower portion of hell 14 and the lower surface of block 11 willbe discharged other than upwardly between the upper portion of bell 14and the inner surface of block 11.

The toroidal channel just above described is joined by means of the duct18 to a main air duct 20 so that air supplied through duct 20 isdirected through the toroidal passageway, designated 21 for convenience,and thence upwardly along the inner surface of block 11 and out throughthe apertures 13. As will be seen particularly by reference to FIGURES 1and 4, the interior surface of the block 11 is provided with fins 22which lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the bell 14 and thuscause air from the toroidal channel 21 to pass upwardly over the innersurface of the block 11 and over the surfaces of the fins 22 which actas radiators and perrrnt the cooling air to readily remove heat from theinner surface of the block 11.

The drawing blocks are also cooled by air directed against their outersurfaces in a manner similar to that disclosed in my above-identifiedpatent. The hinge means has, however, been considerably simplified.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 through 3, a toroidal structure generallydesignated 23 is provided, this structure comprising an innercylindrical member 24, an outer cylindrical member 25 and end rings 26and 27. On one side of the structure 23 a generally rectangular hollowduct 28 is fixed to the cylinder 25, this duct extending to the right asshown in FIGURE 1 and being fixed to a tube 3%) having closed ends 31serving as hubs and being mounted on a shaft 32 which extendshorizontally along the drawing machine at the rear of the drawingblocks. Apertures such as indicated at 33 and 34, FIGURES 1 and 2, areprovided in the tube 30 so that air can enter the duct 28 and thetoroidal chamber 23. As is clearly seen in FIGURES 1 and 3, the tube 36protrudes into the main air duct 20. A rectangular gasket member 34a isprovided so that there is no leakage of air between the aperture in duct20 and the tube 39, this gasket being shown in elevation in FIGURE 3.

Shaft 32 is rotatably mounted in bearings 35 fixed to the vertical wallof air duct 20 and this shaft is provided with an arm 36 (FIG. 2) bymeans of which all of the toroidal chambers 23 may be pivoted andremoved from their position about the respective drawing blocks forpurposes of machine stringing up and the like as more specifically setforth in my above-mentioned patent. It will of course be understood thatthe toroidal structure 23 is notched at two locations to provide forentry of wire to and delivery of wire from the drawing block duringnormal operation as disclosed in said patent.

As has been indicated above, air flows through the main duct 20 throughthe tubes 30 and into the toroidal chambers 23. The inner cylindricalwalls 24 of the toroidal chambers 23 are provided with apertures 37which lie. closely adjacent the outer surface of the respective drawingblocks. Thus streams of air are directed against the blocks at highvelocity the distances being so small that the cooling effect of therapid expansion of air as it leaves the ducts is effective to cool theblocks.

In a second embodiment of this invention the bell structure 14 isreplaced by a similar structure indicated at 40 in FIGURE 5. Thestructure 4%) provides a complete annular chamber within the drawingblock 11 and communicates by means of a duct 41 similar to the duct 18with the main air duct 20. In this embodiment of the invention theprojection 16 on the lower end of the drawing block .11 is retained andmates with and rotates in a groove 42 in the horizontal surface 43 ofthe wall of the annular chamber above mentioned. As indicated above, theannular chamber is formed by the member 40 which seats on the base at44, extends vertically upwardly, has a reentrant bend 45, thence extendsdownwardly as indicated at 46, then horizontally as mentioned at 43 andthen extends again downwardly seating against the base at 47.

Apertures 48 are formed in the outer wall of the annular chamber 40,that is, in the portion 46 thereof, being closely adjacent to the innersurface of the drawing block 11. Thus air supplied through the ducts Z0and 41 to the annular chamber 40 is discharged at high velocity throughthe apertures 48 and is extremely effective in cooling the inner surfaceof the drawing block 11.

The remaining structure of this embodiment of my invention is identicalto that described above in connection with FIGURES 1 through 3 and forthat reason the description is not here repeated. The parts are,however, designated by the same reference characters.

Referring now to FIGURE 6 there is shown therein a slightly modifiedform of my invention which does not utilize an air distributingstructure within the drawing block but which instead supplies air fromthe external toroidal structure which passes downwardly to the drawingblock and out to thereby cool the block.

In this embodiment of my invention the toroidal chamber 23 of the otherfigures of the drawing is modified so that it becomes a dome-shapedmember 50. Thus the cylindrical walls 24 and 25 as well as the end plate26 are retained but instead of utilizing the other end ring 27 the topis closed in by the spaced disks 51 and 52 providing a passageway acrossthe top of the drawing block 11.

As before, air which enters through the main duct and duct 28(previously described) passes through the apertures 37, impinges againstthe outer wall of the drawing block 11 and flows thence downwardly overthe outer surface of the drawing block 11 and out around the edges ofthe dome-shaped member 50.

Relatively large apertures 53 are provided in the lower disk 52 andtherefore air from the chamber 23 flows through these holes and throughthe apertures 13 in the 4 block 11 after which this air is dischargeddownwardly over the inner surface of block 11 passing over the fins 22and thence out to atmosphere.

While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it will beunderstood that I wish to be limited not by the foregoing description,but solely by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

1. Means for cooling the drawing blocks of wire drawing machines,comprising, in combination, a toroidal member having a cylindrical wallthereof extending generally parallel to and surrounding the exteriorsurface of each drawing block and of substantially the same axial extentas the drawing block, means for supplying cooling air thereto, aperturesin said wall through which said cooling air flows to impinge on thevertical surface of the drawing block, a generally bell-shaped memberfixedly mounted within the drawing block and having vertical 7 portionsthereof extending adjacent the interior surface of the drawing blockforming a narrow passageway and means for causing cooling air to flowthrough said passageway between said vertical surface of saidbell-shaped member and said interior vertical surface of the drawingblock.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein a toroidal chamber isformed at the base of said bell-shaped member beneath the lowerperipheral edge of the drawing block and wherein said toroidal chamberis connected to a source of air supply whereby air is supplied to saidnarrow passageway and wherein the drawing block is provided withapertures around its upper periphery, said apertures serving to permitegress of air from within the drawing block.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein the drawing block isprovided with inwardly extending fins on its interior periphery, saidfins extending adjacent the vertical surface of said bell-shaped memberwhereby air passes over said fins and cools the interior surface.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said toroidal member isin the form of a dome having a hollow top and wherein the lower memberof said hollow top has apertures therein whereby air passing throughsaid member is passed downwardly into said narrow passageway betweensaid bell-shaped member and the interior surfaceof the drawing block toperform a cooling operation.

5. A device in accordance with claim 4 wherein a toroidal chamber isformed at the base of the drawing block, whereby air discharged throughsaid narrow passages passes .into said chamber, said chamber beingprovided with apertures in the external periphery through which the airpasses to the atmosphere.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5 wherein the interior surface ofsaid block adjacent said bell-shaped member is finned to provideadditional cooling surface for the block.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6 wherein the wire drawing block isprovided with apertures in its upper surface to provide for egress ofair discharged against the interior vertical wall of the block throughthe said apertures. v

8. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bell-shaped memberis hollow and wherein cooling air is supplied to said hollow bell-shapedmember through a duct and wherein said member has apertures in the wallthereof facing the interior of the drawing block whereby cooling air isemitted from said apertures directly on the surface of the drawingblock, said air being expanded at a point close to the block to enhancethe cooling effect.

7 9. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said toroidal member ishingedly mounted, said mounting comprising a shaft, bearings mounted onan air duct fixed to the base of the machine, said shaft being mountedin said bearings and closed tubular members mounted on said shaft forrotation therewith, said tubular members projecting through rectangularopenings in the walls of said air duct, said tubular members havingsubstantially diametrically spaced rectangular openings supplying airfrom said duct to said toroidal member.

10. Means for cooling drawings blocks of a wire drawing machinecomprising, an annular air supply chamber extending about the outerperipheral Walls of the drawing block and spaced closely adjacentthereto, said chamber having a dome-shaped top comprising outer andinner disk-like walls, said lower wall having a plurality of aperturestherein adjacent its periphery, a bell-shaped member within the drawingblock having a vertically extending portion positioned closely adjacentto the inner periphery of the drawing block, and a plurality ofapertures in the upper surface of the drawing block whereby air suppliedfrom said dome is ejected through said apertures in said lower disk andthe drawing block and flows through the passageway between saidbell-shaped member and said interior surface of the drawing block tothereby cool the block.

11. Cooling means for the interior surface of a Wire drawing block, saidmeans comprising a bell-shaped member mounted within the wire drawingblock said bellshaped member having a vertically extending portionspaced closely adjacent the corresponding vertically extending portionof the interior surface of the drawing block, said bell-shaped memberbeing hollow, means for supplying air to the hollow interior of saidbell-shaped member, apertures in said bell-shaped member through whichcooling air is ejected to impinge upon the interior surface of thedrawing block and apertures in the upper surface of the drawing block topermit air to escape from the interior of the drawing block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,828,922 Carroll Oct. 27, 1931 2,199,495 Johnson Dec. 17, 19382,346,447 Morgan Apr. 11, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 531,885 Germany Aug. 17,1931 407,858 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1934 651,708 Great Britain Apr. 4,1951

1. MEANS FOR COOLING THE DRAWING BLOCKS OF WIRE DRAWING MACHINES,COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A TOROIDAL MEMBER HAVING A CYLINDRICAL WALLTHEREOF EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO AND SURROUNDING THE EXTERIORSURFACE OF EACH DRAWING BLOCK AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AXIAL EXTENTAS THE DRAWING BLOCK, MEANS FOR SUPPLYING COOLING AIR THERETO, APERTURESIN SAID WALL THROUGH WHICH SAID COOLING AIR FLOWS TO IMPINGE ON THEVERTICAL SURFACE OF THE DRAWING BLOCK, A GENERALLY BELL-SHAPED MEMBERFIXEDLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE DRAWING BLOCK AND HAVING VERTICAL PORTIONSTHEREOF EXTENDING ADJACENT THE INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE DRAWING BLOCKFORMING A NARROW PASSAGEWAY AND MEANS FOR CAUSING COOLING AIR TO FLOWTHROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID VERTICAL SURFACE OF SAIDBELL-SHAPED MEMBER AND SAID INTERIOR VERTICAL SURFACE OF THE DRAWINGBLOCK.